New Traffic Lights Near Development on Glebe Road

Two new traffic lights have been installed on N. Glebe Road, where new development is causing concerns about pedestrian safety.

One light went in this week on southbound Glebe Road at N. 9th Street, and another on the northbound side at N. Vermont Street. According to the Department of Environmental Services, it was part of a site plan development with the new construction on the west side of Glebe Road.

DES spokeswoman Shannon Whalen McDaniel says that’s why it was necessary to put in traffic lights, to establish a safe pedestrian connection between the new construction on the west side of Glebe and the businesses and Ballston Metro station on the east side.

Currently, the lights are still covered up. If all goes according to plan, they should be turned on by the end of the month.

It must be tough to walk to the corner at either end of the block. Its not like you’re talking about 57th st in Manhattan, between 5th and 6th.

Thes

Actually, it’s pretty darn close. The distance along 57th between 5th and 6th Avenues is about 950 feet. The pedestrian travel distance along the west side of Glebe between Wilson and Fairfax is about 850 feet.

By comparison, the length of the block along 5th Avenue between 56th and 57th is only 250 feet.

Hmm. I don’t have anything better than Google Maps, but it estimates the distance as 0.2 miles, or about 1050 feet if we assume it’s exactly 0.2 miles (and not rounded up from, say, 0.175 miles)

In any case, I give the Sausage King four Pinnochios.

Thes

Here’s a link to the Google Maps view of 57th at that location. Look at the scale in the lower left corner, and you will see that distance is a lot closer to 1000 feet.

But then go ahead and take the next step. Here is a link to Glebe Road at the same scale. You will see the block is roughly the same size.

Ballston Resident

Does Arlington have a policy about how may feet are too many to walk before a stoplight should be added? 500? 250? 1500? There seems to be some implied science behind this argument so I would like to hear what experts say.

So, is your being in a hurry to get wherever you’re going more important than pedestrians trying to get where they’re going?

drax

Once you get in a car, you are more important!

neutrino

I don’t think I own the road. I do own it. I drive a car.

Barcrofter

I work at 901 N Glebe and there’s NO REASON why you can’t walk to Fairfax/Glebe to safely cross. It’s just laziness and stupidity. I hope they coordinate it so that the light at the intersection of Glebe/Fairfax isn’t green and the light at the crosswalk is red.

Thes

I drive down Glebe Road between Fairfax and Wilson and there’s NO REASON why drivers can’t stop for a few seconds at 9th Street to let pedestrians across. It’s just laziness and stupidity.

Jay Moore

This crosswalk is a much safer option than walking down to north glebe/ north fairfax intersection. The new crosswalk requires crossing just 6 lanes of completely stopped traffic. The other requires crossing 8 lanes of traffic consisting of multiple turn lanes, including the most dangerous turn lane where traffic making a right turn from east bound north fairfax onto south bound glebe road. That turn lane has a green light at the same time as pedestrians have a walk signal. The drivers making that right turn often forget that pedestrians have right of way and often come to a screeching halt. It’s not safe for people in the crosswalk nor for the drivers making the turn. If you don’t get what I’m saying, park your car and walk the busy intersection, then you’ll get it!

Ballston Resident

absurd

http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB

Good. With a load of new pedestrians coming into the block, and mid-block destinations, we were going to see more crossing there, light or not. Nice to see a road plan that accounts for all users.

bob

Is walking half a block in either direction unreasonable? Or should we just turn the whole area into a bunch of peds-only mall streets?

http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB

It’s not your standard block, as you know. And when you’ve got a dense area packed with foot traffic, yes, it’s unreasonable not to accommodate it. Compare the Fairfax –> Wilson stretch of Glebe with the distance between any two crosswalks on Fairfax or Glebe, in the same area.

South Awwlington

The traffic light and cross signal and Carlin Springs and Glebe need to be re-programmed. It is impossible to make a left onto Glebe from Carlin Springs as the pedestrians waddle (yes, i said waddle to cross the street.) I was raised to look both ways, never simply glide out like our pedestrians do and to also HUSTLE. Not walk with 10 feet between each person so the vehicular traffic has NO CHANCE of making the light.

It’s called common courtesy and respect.

JamesE

That left is particularly troublesome, especially with all the cars exiting the garage.

MC 703

The right is particularly troublesome, especially the homophobia and environmental disregard.

peds are people too

+1 – that left is challenging to make, and I agree that too many peds take their sweet time.

John Fontain

True dat. Today’s peds almost seem to relish in taking their sweet time when crossing the street. When I’m a ped and am crossing the street knowing that cars are wanting to turn, I make sure to walk briskly at a minimum. It’s the old do unto others thing.

http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB

I know! What are they doing, moving at their natural speed when they see an obviously superior being encased in metal and doing no real work?! Kids these days . . .

South Awwlington

So please enlighten the group as to how you would handle this same situation.

Way for three light cycles?

Hit someone?

Remove all roads in Arlington?

SimplyDusty

You’d have half the peds at Carlin Springs and Glebe if they’d just put a frickin’ ped light at 7th and Glebe in front of Macy’s. Or a crosswalk. Or anything that would signal the high incidence of ped crossing there so cars wouldn’t mow down peds there. I don’t know where all of the people are coming from, but I imagine it would significantly increase if there were a safer way to cross.

http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB

Been driving through that intersection for, hrm, 15 years now? Can’t say that I ever felt limited to those choices.

South Awwlington

But still no answer. Like almost everyone on this board; constant bit*hing or constant defending but NEVER a suggestion of resolution. You are not an ideas person.

http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB

I’m sorry, perhaps I wasn’t clear enough. I’ll type slowly for you:

I put my signal on, proceed through the intersection on green, yielding to pedestrians as necessary.

Works. Every. Time.

Crazy, I know.

T.D.

SouthAwwlington, it’d be easy, I think. Just put in a left arrow for some amount of time for those turning from Carlin Springs going north on Glebe, and take that number of seconds away from parking garage traffic. There are never (at least as far as I’ve seen, and I’m at the intersection twice every day) any cars stuck waiting to exit the garage, so I can’t imagine there’d be back-up on that side.

Arlingtonian

The intersection at N. Glebe and N. Carlin Springs Road is one of the most hazardous in the County for motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. Many people know this. It is nearly impossible for the elderly and handicapped to cross N. Glebe Road at the intersection when the pedestrian signal is green.

During the 1990′s, Arlington County received about a million dollars from the Commonwealth of Virginia to construct a pedestrian bridge across Glebe Road at the intersection.

During the 2000′s, the County Board decided that pedestrian safety is of no importance in that intersection. The Board reidrected the funds to other purposes, including hiring and paying County staff to develop ideas for new uses for the million dollars that the Commonwealth had provided.

At the Saturday, May 19, 2012, meeting of the County Board, the Board will consider a site Plan (SP#72, 950 N. Glebe Road) for a new building that will not contain an entrance for the pedestrian bridge. The County Manager is supporting approval of the site plan.

If you want to see a pedestrian bridge at that intersection, send e-mails to countyboard@arlingtonva.us that asks the Board to require that the new building contain an entrance for the bridge. Even better, speak at the Board meeting to support the construction of an entrance to the bridge at the building site.

If you don’t do any of the above, stop complaining about the unsafe conditions at the intersection. You will have lost your opportunity to reduce the hazards at the intersection.

Josh S

This post somehow looks familiar…..

Observer

Interesting comments about this intersection, South Awwlington.

peds are people too

+1

Mick way

I think yes.

Anyway it will probably be a light that will only change if called for by a ped.

Though personally I’d have installed a pedestrian overpass if I was king.

Chris Slatt

I think of pedestrian overpasses the same way I do school vouchers. They greatly improve the experience for those up on the overpass and greatly degrade the experience for those who are still trying to cross at grade. I’d rather put the money into making the at grade crossing the best it can be so all the pedestrians benefit.

drax

Ped overpass also = expensive.

Clarendon

They also cost a lot for a way to just simply cross the street, and they tak up a lot of room. You either need to have switchback ramps or elevators that have to be maintained.

Rick

The pedestrian overpass would have to connect two willing buildings, while the Westin probably could gain business by being connected to the new VT conference center, that would cost a ton of money to retrofit both buildings.

Chris Slatt

Is waiting 30 seconds for a red light once in a while unreasonable? Or should we just turn the whole area into a bunch of limited access highways?

Josh S

If it only operates by peds pressing a button – fine. Although I wish there was a way to make the peds congregate enough before the light would actually change. Cause stopping for 60 seconds to watch one person cross the road is gonna suck.

But if this is on a timer – forget it.

There are already a tremendous number of lights on Glebe between Washington Blvd and Route 50. One more is nothing to cheer about.

(Yes, I am almost never a ped in that part of town….)

JamesE

If it operates like the one in front of CVS by the mall it should be fine, however looking at the picture the button location would be curiously far from the crossing, it seems very far back on the sidewalk.

Rick

“Is walking half a block in either direction unreasonable? Or should we just turn the whole area into a bunch of peds-only mall streets?”

You’re speaking the county board’s language, pal

tool

Nanny state… Perhaps we wouldn’t be so fat as a country if people didn’t balk at the idea of walking half a block in either direction to get to either intersection with crosswalks and traffic lights… As stupid as this approach to “traffic management” is (solutions, ie more controls and restrictions, in search of problems), this particular spot is even more assinine! If the traffic goons feel compelled to install this silly light, they could at least put in a pass-thru in the center median to allow for a vehicular cross over by the traffic coming out of the driveways in the center of each block at the same spot… but no, it is all for a friggin’ crosswalk… I drive thru that block at least 20 times a day on my job, and I can’t recall ever seeing any jaywalkers there… Absolute madness… and being six lanes, and what with the like of the ADA and such, each cycle of the light will be long enough for a freight train of snails to get thru, ie LONG! This will be especially assume during the already immense backlogs that develop during the morning rush onto 66W… Thanks, Arlington. Rant over.

Sam

Driving north on Glebe is so frustrating. I understand they don’t time the lights in order to slow everyone down but it is so maddening as a driver to try and get through Wilson, Fairfax and Washington.

Thes

As a pedestrian, it is maddening to have to walk 800 feet out of your way just to get across the street. At a brisk pace, that’s about 3.5 extra minutes out of one’s day, each time. My guess is that even after the light goes in, drivers on Glebe won’t have to wait so long.

John Fontain

Based on your measurements from your prior post and given the fact that not everyone wanting to cross Glebe will have the center of the other side of the block as their destination, wouldn’t it be unlikely that pedestrians would have to go a full 800 feet to get to their destination on the east side of Glebe?

Thes

Depends on where their starting point and destination is. If you are trying to travel down 9th Street (which is supposed to be a pedestrian “greenway” in the rest of Ballston, by the way), you would need to go about 400 feet to the corner, cross, and come 400 feet back. The reports on this page of people risking arrest just to jaywalk at this location suggests that the need is strong.

PaulB

It is odd though that exiting either building along there, you would have to walk “out of your way” to get to this crosswalk. Then probably walk “out of your way” to get back to either Glebe or Fairfax Drive. Unless you are walking directly through the Westin car turnaround area and across Glebe at this point, you probably had to walk out or your way to get to the crosswalk, and then the time you spend waiting for your cross signal, I’d beat you across Glebe using the lights at Fairfax or Wilson.

Rick

you walk 2.6 mph briskly?

drax

Maybe you should stop balking about stopping in your car for a half block so people can walk.

Your post assumes the typical “streets are for cars and pedestrians should go around them” mentality.

JamesE

Maybe you should stop balking about walking further to cross so people can drive. See what I did there?

Josh S

Your whole “see what I did there” schtick is no longer remotely amusing / effective.

JamesE

my “whole” one time I used it? see what I did there?

Ballston Resident

lol

S Hosj

You know they are kissing cousins/identical twins, right?

karzai’s friend

And I thought they were the same person-thanks for the clarification.

John Fontain

Well, maybe not to the person he successfully used it against.

Thes

Perhaps the person who will be inconvenienced for the shortest amount of time should do the waiting.

JamesE

The county should do a million dollar study to figure this out

Lloyd

But you have no idea what any one person’s time is worth.

What if one person gets to cross Glebe there, while a Metro or ART bus full of people is delayed on Glebe heading to Ballston, and several people miss bus connections because of that? Where is the parity in inconveniences there?

drax

People who walked to catch a bus you mean?

Thes

I agree, a full bus should have one of those devices to make the lights go green for them.

drax

The ART buses just run the reds there. I’ve watched them do it multiple times.

South Awwlington

Leave your house earlier or wait for the next bus????

drax

Yeah, I see what you did there. I can do it too, watch: maybe you should drive around the block if you want to avoid that light. See what I did there?

South Awwlington

lol you realize you just gave yourself away, right Josh?

drax

I am not Josh.

Josh S

And I am not drax. I swear.

ArlRes

APD was out there ticketing a couple for jaywalking from the green turtle last week. Pretty much every time I walk out of my building there’s someone darting across the street. It’s actually rare that I don’t see someone making a mad dash to the other side there. I was actually thinking to myself that there really needs to be a crosswalk there given the new development and heavy pedestrian traffic. A week later the lights went up.

Ballston Resident

By that rationale, there should be a stoplight in front of Cosi across from Ballston metro, because I see people darting across Stuart Street all the time.

Joey

How can they be ticketed there?

Virginia law allows pedestrians to cross mid-block, as long as one of the ends of the block does’t have a marked crosswalk. In other jurisdictions, the rule is usually when one of the two intersections isn’t signalized, but to similar effect as Virginia’s.

If 9th Street is a dedicated street and didn’t yet have a crosswalk, a pedestrian should be able to legally dart across Glebe anywhere between Wilson and Fairfax, as long as they are *careful*. (Not saying this is smart, just that it’s legal.)

—

From the code:

§ 46.2-923. How and where pedestrians to cross highways.

When crossing highways, pedestrians shall not carelessly or maliciously interfere with the orderly passage of vehicles. They shall cross, wherever possible, only at intersections or marked crosswalks. Where intersections contain no marked crosswalks, pedestrians shall not be guilty of negligence as a matter of law for crossing at any such intersection or between intersections when crossing by the most direct route.

T.D.

Tool, actually, the fat people aren’t the ones out there walking; there are far more fat people sitting in their cars whah-whah-ing about the “lazy” pedestrians than actually walking.

_T_G_E_O_A

Greene Turtle food is nasty, and I don’t know which sucks more. The acoustics or the wait staff.

Rick

THANK YOU. Glad I’m not the only one thinking that

JamesE

The acoustics in pretty much every new establishment are awful due to their choice of materials and interior design.

turtle food…

…is indeed average at best. the decor in the dining room is likewise soulless…the bar area and outdoor seating are the only mildly redeeming features.

JamesE

Should build a nice pedestrian tunnel, or just add even more traffic lights every 20 feet.

tunnel to the W. entrance to Ballston Metro

JBG should build the Spire, including the Western entrance to the Ballston Metro. In addition, there should be a tunnel to the SW corner of the Glebe/Fairfax intersection near 950 N. Glebe for peds to cross Glebe and have the option to proceed directly to Metro.

HighViewPunk

Pedestrian bridge.

Mr. Brown

Agree! Ballston already has a couple of pedestrian bridges that are very nice, and it could make a very distinctive “gateway” feature.

Josh S

You might think that, but actual practice seems to prove otherwise….

drax

Yeah, I don’t think Ballston and Rossyln are what we want to emulate further.

Tim

Ehh. I’ve been running across Glebe right around there for years. I don’t need no stinkin’ crosswalk.

JamesE

I think they should add a couple of stoplights and crosswalks to 495 and 66 since streets are for pedestrians as well.

Thes

No, limited access interstate highways are not for pedestrians. City streets, including arterial streets, are.

drax

No, James, we should ban all pedestrians on all streets.

South Awwlington

I think some people should change their name on this board to Captain Snark.

Thes

By the way, for those who are predicting a traffic disaster at this location, the “traffic disaster” predicted on this thread never materialized, even though business turned out to be extremely brisk.

Josh S

It’s less than a year. I wouldn’t be so quick to call it one way or the other…..

CW

It was not a traffic disaster, but let me tell you I am glad to no longer call that garage home.

And just wait until the superblock construction job gets going. $3000 a month to have piles driven outside your window. Enjoy that.

JustSayin

“I am glad to no longer call that garage home. ”

yeah, moving from living in a garage to an actual house or apt is a big step up. Congrats!

CW

If your single family house had a garage in it, would you not say it was part of your home?

Southeast Jerome

hahahaha that was a good one

BreakPause02

Driving to TJ after work still sucks, as the lights are so messed up in the area. Turning left onto Wilson from Garfield (from TJ) requires one to wait 1-2 cycles at Clarendon then 1 more at Wilson because the lights are timed so you just miss the Clarendon light.

The buses don’t seem to help that have recently starting using this street.

CW

Buses have always run down Garfield, and cabs have always parked in the middle of Garfield.

Southeast Jerome

Why dont they just build a 2nd metro entrance at the corner of Glebe and Fairfax right by the hotel and coming Buffalo Wild Wings?

Not only that, but I imagine Marymount would like to redevelop that site at some point to make i more useful than an ugly building with a surface parking lot in prime location.

Marymount could put the parking underground, their classrooms on the first 4 floors, with offices or apartments above, and make money on it. Ill take my 3%.

Thes

There actually is an additional Metro entrance planned (and partly excavated) at the corner of Fairfax and Glebe. Not enough money to dig the tunnel to connect it yet, though.

Southeast Jerome

but theres enough money to buy an office building for homeless people that pay no taxes but they cant finish off a partially completed project….

ladies and gentlemen the arlington way

Arlingtune

Utter rubbish to not deliver that Ballston entrance, promised years and years ago. Arlington is paying for the new Rosslyn elevators, which provide only a marginal improvement to circulation at that station, whereas the west Ballston entrance would be a complete game-changer for the buildings and businesses around the Glebe/Fairfax intersection.

http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB

Srsly. When is Arlington going to realize that people are only as valuable as what’s in their wallets?

Rick

Says the man who obviously doesn’t pay property tax, based on that statement

drax

Government spending involves priorities. Nobody opposes all spending.

South Awwlington

Or any number of other new ideas. I agree, let’s finish what we start before considering other projects.

HighViewPunk

Where is the partial excavation?

jan

High View Punk,

Across Glebe at Fairfax. Actually, I believe the tunnel was built and barricaded as a compromise with local residents who were afraid an entrance there would stimulate development. Remember that this was 40 years ago.

tunnel to the W. entrance to Ballston Metro

No kidding? Fascinating. Tell me more? Does it come up at the SW or NW corner of Glebe and Fairfax?

Lou

It is at the SE corner of that intersection. There is no barricaded tunnel that I am aware of, unless there is something you can see from inside the office building parking garage. When the office building at Glebe and Fairfax was built about 10 years ago they arranged the ground floor to allow for the escalator entrance. You can see the alcove under the building overhang next to sidewalk along Fairfax Drive, where the ATM is (I think it’s a SunTrust bank). The continuation of the entrance has to extend under the old INS building, which was going to be the Fairmont(?) condo high-rise project. That got shelved when the economy tanked. Part of the condo garage under the building was going to be built in a way to complete the entrance.

The entrance would be at what is now the far end of the metro train platform. You could enter the station from either end of the platform. It would be a spectacular improvement to the Ballston metro, considering the super-density of people in the new dense development over there, or whatever buzzwords you want to float around to sound urbany.

drax

Are you sure that happened 40 years ago? I think the reason there was no second entrance was because there was no demand 40 years ago for it in the first place. Ballston was the termination of the Orange Line back then, hence the huge bus depot.

A second entrance was planned when they built that building with P.F. Changs at the other end about 6 or 7 years ago, I recall. Here’s where I think it was supposed to come out:

ballston was the terminus because the system wasn’t done. Was only the terminus for 7 years…

xtr657

Amen

http://blacknell.net/dynamic/ MB

Like.

JamesE

That would take away from the street car fund

TJ

Wasn’t the development of that building tied to the INS building that was to be torn down and re-developed?

As I understand it, the residents of the apartment building next door objected, so now the INS building has been re-born and that project was scrapped, along with the West Ballston Metro entrance.

TJ

Meant to say the development of that “entrance”, not building.

Joey

A project like this is actually on the books for the intersection of Fairfax and Vermont. It was partially funded by the County and the remainder was to be funded by a developer who had a 4.1 site plan approved already for the site.

However, when the financing market dropped out, the developer delayed his plans for the block indefinitely, and with it, the new Metro entrance.

The County then transferred the County portion of the money from that project into the new Rosslyn Metro entrance instead.

TJ

This would appear to be a safer ped crossing than Fairfax or Wilson.

Rick

The board approved contracts to remove the turn lanes and rebuild the crosswalks. Which makes me wonder even more whether this project was worthwile

Rick

As long as we’re talking about the metro entrance, does anyone else find it odd that the county footed the bill for the station name to be changed to add “-MU”, when it is for a private university?

Southeast Jerome

I am shocked that the bible-praising convervatives in Richmond werent drooling over paying for that

Josh S

No.

On the other hand, I am firmly in the camp that is opposed to excessively long station names and especially when it involves changing names that are established.

drax

No. Why would it matter? It’s near MU.

nom de guerre

But it is located closer to brgr:shack and 7-11. I have heard that their is a nascent movement to rename Clarendon to Clarendon/Sam’s Corner.

WeiQiang

You mean like, “Tenleytown-AU”, “Brookland-CUA” or “Waterfront-SEU”?

Ricardo

My recollection is that Marymount paid something like $80K for that, but I’m going by memory.

I definitely remember that the first time they put the letters up over the escalators, it said “Ballston-Mu”, as in the Greek letter, and they fixed it a week or so later.

Rick

Wikipedia says the county footed the bill for it. I would hope AU paid for their addition to the station name, and would hope either GMU or the Commonwealth paid for the GMU addition.

arlgirl

All I know is that pretty soon Arlington will have a traffic light at every single intersection, even in residential areas, at the rate we’re going.

Bluemontsince1961

Shhhhhhh, the Arl gov’t will hear you…don’t give them any more ideas!

NaturalFlow

Perhaps we should remove all traffic lights and stop and yield signs and then we’d be in traffic nirvana – right ? Nobody would have to stop for nothin.

drax

It’s almost as if parts of Arlington are urbanizing, like, say, the very intersection we’re talking about!

John K.

With additional traffic calming devices in between!

Tre

Shouldn’t they just time the mid-block lights to coincide with the other lights on fairfax and clarendon? Obviously, making a major artery like Glebe into a walker friendly area will have negative consequences on traffic. During rush hour I would make the peds wait a good minute before the cross walk turns.

Tre

*meant fairfax and wilson

drax

Making the area walker-friendly will make traffic better, not worse.

Tre

Glebe is utilized as a main connector between South Arlington and North Arlington, especially to get to 66. Lots of traffic passes through that does not ever stop in Ballston. An area that is more walker-friendly implies more pedestrians, which slows traffic down… common sense. Are you pro LDL cholesterol? Development had mostly stayed east of Glebe for many years for that reason. But since the development has occurred, I understand the need for a mid-block light. I am curious as to how you think it will make traffic better.

drax

Next time I cross there to go to the Metro instead of driving on I-66, I’ll wave, and you can figure it out for yourself.

Tre

When you wave, make sure it’s not while you’re crossing the slip lane.

Ricardo

I think we should leave the slip lanes there, but charge for their use with EZ-Pass.

Josh S

+1 for the smile….

John K.

Meaning you can’t explain, but you can condescend.

Plunkitt

“Meaning you can’t explain, but you can condescend.”

See why I think that he is at least strongly “associated” with our county government.

drax

I am not Josh and I am not the government.

Can you people just handle that someone has opinions and not constantly question motivations?

can’t explain

Got a feeling inside
it’s a certain kind
I feel hot and cold
yeah, down in my soul, yeah

Josh S

At least.

Arlingtonian

The intersection at N. Glebe and N. Carlin Springs Road is one of the most hazardous in the County for motor vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists. Many people know this. It is nearly impossible for the elderly and handicapped to cross N. Glebe Road at the intersection when the pedestrian signal is green.
During the 1990′s, Arlington County received about a million dollars from the Commonwealth of Virginia to construct a pedestrian bridge across Glebe Road at the intersection.
During the 2000′s, the County Board decided that pedestrian safety is of no importance in that intersection. The Board reidrected the funds to other purposes, including hiring and paying County staff to develop ideas for new uses for the million dollars that the Commonwealth had provided.
At the Saturday, May 19, 2012, meeting of the County Board, the Board will consider a site Plan (SP#72, 950 N. Glebe Road) for a new building that will not contain an entrance for the pedestrian bridge. The County Manager is supporting approval of the site plan.
If you want to see a pedestrian bridge at that intersection, send e-mails to countyboard@arlingtonva.us that asks the Board to require that the new building contain an entrance for the bridge. Even better, speak at the Board meeting to support the construction of an entrance to the bridge at the building site.
If you don’t do any of the above, stop complaining about the unsafe conditions at the intersection. You will have lost your opportunity to reduce the hazards at the intersection.

Tom

Really? For the 5 people that cross there every hour. I can think of many ways to spend millions a lot better and I;m very much pro-ped …

Lou

What hour of the day (or middle of the night) were you standing there when you counted only 5 crossing that intersection?

Rick

Would said bridge connect directly to the office building facade (over UJ’s/Rock Bottom), or into the garage? I’m for it either way I’m just curious.

Arlingtonian

Many people cross N. Glebe Road each day at its intersection with N. Carlin Springs Road. You can often see more than five people waiting for the traffic light to change at the same time during rush hours. Some cross Glebe when travelling to or from the Ballston Metro Station.

Union Jack’s and Rock Bottom are on the ground floor of an office building (Ballston Tower). During the 1990′s, the County government gave the developer of Ballston Tower bonus height in exchange for the construction of an entrance to the pedestrian bridge.

The entrance for the bridge is near the second floor ramp that connects Ballston Tower with the Ballston Common garage. It is probably in or near the garage, as the bridge was expected to connect to the Goodyear store site, which is directly across Glebe Road from the garage.

If the County Board approves the site plan for the building at the Goodyear store site without requiring an entrance to the pedestrian bridge, the County will receive nothing useful in return for the bonus height that it granted to the developer of Ballston Tower.

Ed

I think a fence along the median would have been a lot cheaper. The last thing this county needs is another traffic light!

Arlington, Northside

I just hope they get the timing right quickly. The new lights on Washington Blvd., between Wilson Blvd and 10th Street have taken months to get anywhere close to right.

YTK

900 feet, 850 feet – these feet were made for walking. Unfortunately there’s not a chestnut or knish or pretzel vendor in sight.

Arlingtonian

These feet were made for walking, but these knees and hips were made for walking on four legs. When these knees and hips get old, they hurt when these feet walk. Sometimes, they stop working, and these feet can’t walk.